Distribution companies (DISCOMs) owed ₹194.52 billion (~$2.61 billion) to renewable energy generators (excluding disputed amounts) in overdue payments at the end of December 2021, according to data released by the Ministry of Power.

The figure reported for December was 3% lower than ₹200.85 billion (~$2.69 billion) for November.

According to the data released by MoP’s payment ratification and analysis portal PRAAPTI, the outstanding payments to renewable energy generators stood at ₹4.08 billion (~$54.68 million) at the end of December 2021. At the end of November, the figure was at ₹6.86 billion (~$91.94 million).

In December, DISCOMs released ₹37.15 billion (~$497.91 million) in outstanding amounts to power generators, a 19% decrease compared to ₹45.97 billion (~$616.12 million) released in the previous month.

They also released ₹146.71 billion (~$1.97 billion) in overdue amounts to power generators during the month, which decreased 18% compared to 178.11 billion (~$2.39 billion) in November.

The overdue amount owed by DISCOMS to power generators at the end of December was ₹1.007 trillion (~$13.50 billion), an increase of 4% from ₹966.21 billion (~$12.95 billion) in November. At the end of the month, the outstanding amount stood at ₹144.8 billion (~$1.94 billion), a decrease of 20% compared to ₹181.3 billion (~$2.43 billion) last month.

Maharashtra had the highest backlog of ₹191.54 billion (~$2.57 billion), followed by Tamil Nadu with ₹185.71 billion (~$2.49 billion), and Rajasthan with ₹110.67 billion (~$1.48 billion).

In terms of ease of doing business with DISCOMs, Jammu and Kashmir was at the bottom of the rung. Other states that performed badly during the month were Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, and Meghalaya.

The states that performed well during the month included Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Non-conventional energy generators to whom the DISCOMs owed the most at the end of the month included Adani Green Energy, Hero Future Energies, and Tata Power Company with ₹20.37 billion (~$273.01 million), ₹14.20 billion (~$190.32 million), and ₹10.73 billion (~$143.81 million), respectively.

Recently, the Ministry of Power said that 39 out of 55 DISCOMs submitted draft proposals under the ₹3.03 trillion (~$40.82 billion) reforms-based result-linked power distribution program. The Ministry said that Meghalaya and Assam were the frontrunners in planning operational and financial reforms. Critical interventions envisioned under this program include providing support to DISCOMs to ensure 100% system metering, prepaid smart metering, energy accounting, and infrastructure works for loss reduction.